33 Sandra Gaviria-Buck CHOCQUIBTOWN

33 Multilingual Discourses Vol. 1.1 Fall 2012 Sandra Gaviria-Buck CHOCQUIBTOWN: Young Voices Shattering Afro-Colombian Invisibility n the past two years an Afro-Colombian hip-hop band from the Pacific region of Colombia has been getting a lot of attention in I the media, especially after winning a Latin Grammy Award in 2010 and being nominated to several categories of the Grammy Music Awards in 2011 and 2012. In their lyrics, they claim to represent the black population of the Pacific coast, people of African descent who have traditionally lived in marginalized conditions of poverty and exploitation of different sorts. By borrowing some insights from African American criticism, the afrocentricity in Choquibtown's songs is explored. Additionally, through a postcolonialist approach, this band's musical production is analyzed as a voice of widespread racism and as means of resistance to political and cultural oppression. Introduction El saber es entender Knowing is understanding y el entender es saber understanding is knowing dicen los viejos ancianos old men say oigan bien para aprender listen carefully to learn para que cuando se ofrezca so that when you have the chance cuenten como yo conté. you tell as I told you. Agua y un trago Water and a drink para empezar; to start trago y panela a drink and panela Sandra Gaviria-Buck 34 para concluir… to end. Ears of the world hear. 1 Oídos del mundo oí. (Velásquez qtd. in Arbeláez 9) These verses are a traditional introduction to a night of storytelling in the region of Chocó. And they represent precisely what ChocQuibTown wants to do with their music: sing for everyone to hear what they have to say. ChocQuibTown is an Afro-Colombian hip-hop band from the Pacific region of Colombia that has been getting much attention in the media for the past three years, especially after winning a Latin Grammy Award in 2010 and being nominated to the Grammy Music Awards in 2011 and again to the Latin Grammy Awards in 2012. The members of this band, Goyo, Tostao and Slow, have been writing and composing their music for the past eleven years and have already released five albums, two of which were independently produced. The attention they have received couldn't have come in a better time, as 2011 was declared by the UN the International Year for People of African Descent due to the current status of human rights in Latin America and to promote programs to counteract these issues. In their lyrics, ChocQuibTown claims to represent their people, the black population of the Pacific coast, especially from the Chocó department. They represent a people who, mostly of African descent (around 80 or 90%), have traditionally lived in marginalized conditions of poverty and exploitation of different sorts. They express a sense of joy to live, despite the struggles they have always faced: discrimination, bad politics, and therefore, poverty – just to mention a few. They voice their concerns about their social and political problems, but also 1 All excerpts and quotes from French and Spanish were translated into English by Sandra Gaviria-Buck. 35 Multilingual Discourses Vol. 1.1 Fall 2012 their pride of being who they are and where they come from. They portray people who are supposedly united through their culture, traditions, and daily life and that are aware of the power of their cultural productions. This article will explore the songs by ChocQuibTown in a broader light of African American criticism and postcolonialism. Initially, I will present a brief background of Afro-Colombians that led to their current situation and subsequent responses, such as the one described by ChocQuibTown. Then, I will demonstrate how ChocQuibTown's songs revitalize and strengthen an Afro-Colombian identity, promote resistance to domination from Andinocentrismo (Arocha and Moreno as cited in Arocha et al 2), and help validate and promote the work of Afro-Colombian organizations by bringing Afro- Colombian issues out from the invisible into the visible. Therefore, I will briefly look at how musical production –as self-representation, self-determination, and resistance to political and cultural oppression– is part of a larger Afro-Colombian movement intending to impact all spheres of Colombian society to actually improve the living conditions for the Afro-Colombian population. I will also briefly address ChocQuibTown's choice of genre as an example of hybridity in its mixture of Afro-Colombian roots and African American hip-hop. I will explore if their choice of genre disregards its imperialist and neo-colonialist origin or denotes a sense of solidarity and empathy, as well as identification with the plights of black communities in the U.S. Background Mestizaje or miscegenation is the key word that since the times of independence from Spain has prevailed in the Colombian national discourse. The supposed integration and intermixing of the three Sandra Gaviria-Buck 36 races that were brought together after the Conquest – Indians, Spanish, and African – has dominated the educational, social, and political spheres of the country to the point that racism and discrimination are not considered an issue for most of the population and, according to Wade, it has prevented ethnic mobilizations. Even though "blackness and indianness are not necessarily ignored" (Wade 341), there has been a generalized privileging of lighter skin colour. Afro-Colombians have not even enjoyed the same status that indigenous communities have (Arbeláez 28, Wade 345). Although indigenous communities have faced discrimination and poverty, they are recognized as legally protected minorities since 1890, and have received academic and institutional support. Afro-Colombians have been denied that "otherness" and, even though they are considered regular citizens (Arbeláez 28, Wade 346), they have lived in a sort of invisibility (Friedeman 1985 in Wade 341) and have been subjected to stereotyping and patronizing attitudes. This invisibility was originally self-inflicted, as in colonial times black slaves who escaped slavery established communities called palenques in remote locations near rivers and coasts where they remained outside of the religious and political control of colonial society (Losonczy 590). The process of independence and the abolition of slavery engrossed the population living in these remote areas, as black slaves living around mining zones and indigenous peoples moved to the areas near rivers and coasts where they coexisted for years, establishing kinship and exchanging goods and services. L'établissement de familles sur des parcelles agricoles, source d'autosuffisance alimentaire, et la construction de maisons coïncident avec une ritualisation du cycle de vie de des relations sociales (…) Mais le discours local y juxtapose des modes de déplacement temporaire (navigation, orpaillage et commerce), qui 37 Multilingual Discourses Vol. 1.1 Fall 2012 entraînent une mobilité régionale et saisonnière ainsi que la consolidation des réseaux de parentèle comme des liens commerciaux et inter-etniques.2 (Losonczy 594) This coexistence has not been always peaceful, but has definitely benefited both parties in different aspects. In 1990, the dialogues leading to the Constitutional Reform of 1991 opened a "forum for issues on ethnicity and nationality" (Wade 346). Afro-Colombian and Indian movements lobbied and participated together in the discussions and, despite the weakness of their alliance, the new Constitution defined Colombia as a "multiethnic and pluricultural" country. This led to the development in 1993 of Law 70 (Ley 70 de las Comunidades Negras – Law of Black Communities) that recognized black communities as ethnic minorities, although only those in the Pacific Littoral. Regardless of the voids that this Law still has, it has certainly brought attention to the difficult conditions faced by Afro-Colombians in the Pacific Region and opened a space for further discussions and negotiations (Mosquera 174). As Agudelo puts it, "it created an ideological rupture from the traditional nationalist project that saw mestizaje as the most effective embodiment of the imagined nation" (as cited in Mosquera 174). Unfortunately, the attention that this new political developments brought about, along with a renewed interest in the resources of the region and the subsequent government plans to build an interoceanic canal in the Pacific, generated a wave of violence that affected the black and indigenous population (Arbeláez 29), which again resorted 2 The settlement of families in farming plots, source of food self-sufficiency, and the building of houses coincide with a ritualization of the life cycle of social relations (...) But the local discourse is associated with some forms of temporary displacement (navigation, gold washing, and commerce) that imply a regional and seasonal mobility, as well as the consolidation of kinship networks as commercial and inter-ethnical links. Sandra Gaviria-Buck 38 to isolation in remote areas or displacement (forced migration) to big cities like Medellín, Bogotá and Cali. Out of the almost two million and a half displaced peasants and farmers, 800,000 are Afro- Colombian, and only in the Pacific Littoral there are around 266,219 who have migrated to the cities of Buenaventura, Tumaco, Guapí and Quibdó. (Acción Social de la Presidencia de la República, as cited by Mosquera, J.D.) As Arbeláez points out, Chocó has become not only the department with less social investment per capita and less development in terms of education, health, and infrastructure, but also the one where the most brutal violence has occurred. La "visibilisation" politique et médiatique massive et délibérée du territoire, des ressources et de la population noire par la légalisation et la médiatisation de droits collectifs sur la base de l'ethnie apparaît comme l'un des facteurs de l'inclusion brutale de la région dans la violence (Losonczy 608).3 Nowadays, the Afro-Colombian population represents approximately one fifth of the Colombian population, around ten million people. Their presence is especially visible in the Atlantic and Pacific Coast, but also in major cities like Cali, Medellín, and Bogotá.

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